Monmouth Greek life revamped

By: Andrea Emery
News Editor

Monmouth College Greek life is under renovation. In late summer 2006, a search began to find a consultant to analyze the current Greek life system at Monmouth College.

Tom Jelke, an independent consultant from Miami, Fla., visited Monmouth College this week to gather information and perform a cultural analysis and evaluation. According to L.C. Coghill, assistant director of Greek life, Jelke was exactly what the college was looking for.

“He has been very successful in the past and he is also very qualified,” Coghill commented. “Jelke has experience consulting with schools comparable to Monmouth’s size, making him an even better candidate for the position.”

Jelke is the President/CEO of T.Jelke Solutions, a consulting firm specializing in independent research, training, assessment and evaluation, leadership programming, and strategic planning for colleges and universities, fraternal organizations, and non-profits.

Jelke received his Ph.D. in higher education with a minor in law from Indiana University-Bloomington. He received his B.A. in English from Florida International University in Miami, and his M.A. in college student personnel from Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

According to tjelke.com, the mission statement is as follows:

“Our Mission is to improve fraternity and sorority life by establishing long-term partnerships and providing affordable, quality consulting services for colleges and universities, fraternity and sorority communities and inter/national fraternity and sorority headquarters.”

T.Jelke Solutions begins the consulting process by first making an initial contact with an organization to determine how to provide solutions. The process continues with pre-visit preparation. During this part of the process, T.Jelke Solutions gathers as much information as possible about the situation at hand. During the actual visit, T.Jelke Solutions implements the intervention strategy. Finally, as in Monmouth’s case, the follow-up portion of the process includes creating a long-term relationship. A report is issued to the organization and periodic checks are conducted to monitor progression. In Monmouth’s case, access to resources through T.Jelke Solutions is available for up to a year following the analysis.

This past week, Jelke spent time meeting with Greek chapter members, faculty and President Ditzler to get an idea of what Greek life is all about on campus. Throughout his week here, Jelke met and interviewed individuals and focus groups and even took some time to stop random students to ask them about their perception of Monmouth College Greek life.

“It is hard to compare Monmouth with other colleges I have consulted with because every school is different. Every school has its own culture,” Jelke said.

Although he provides a service to his clients, Jelke still finds time to have fun on the job. Jelke’s favorite part of his job is working with college students and hearing their perspectives.

“I love working with college students because it keeps me young. Generally, the students I work with are very intelligent and it’s fun to keep up on pop culture, too,” Jelke added.

In addition to Jelke’s visit, Greek chapters are also being assessed through an extensive chapter report. Greek life at Monmouth College, although under renovation, and according to Coghill, will be taken to the next level.